St Michael's show their west Tipperary neighbours Bansha Celtic no mercy

Bansha Celtic 2 St Michael's 5

Bansha Celtic got no succour from their relegation travails when they went down against local rivals St Michael’s in this west Tipperary derby in the TSDL Premier League.

After a cagey first fifteen minutes for both sides, it was the visitors who drew first blood when they took the lead in the 18th minute, after a good save from the Bansha ‘keeper was followed in by Russell Quirke and he scored on the rebound.

They doubled that advantage in the 25th minute when a smart through ball put Quirke clear and he slid it past the goalie to add to his and his team’s tally. They had the perfect opportunity to add a third minutes later when they were awarded a penalty kick, but the Bansha ‘keeper made a great save.

They finally did add that all-important third goal just on the stroke of half time, when a quickly-taken corner was headed home by Shane Ryan.

Ten minutes into the second period they got their fourth, when Rhys O’Regan cut in from the right and buried the ball in the far corner of the net.

To Bansha’s credit, they continued to battle and pulled a goal back in the 70th minute when William O’ Dwyer squeezed a shot into the far corner of the goal. Five minutes later they added another, this time when a deflected shot from O’Dwyer found the roof of the net.

They went close to making it three, only to be denied by a magnificent double save by the St Michael’s 'keeper.

However the Saints closed out the game after this, adding a fifth goal in the final minute when Joey Mulcahy curled a sublime effort into the top corner.